Reversible bib



Patented Apr. 21, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements inbibs, and, particularly, of the type used by children for protecting theclothing of the wearer.

Childrens bibs are customarily constructed in such a way as to provide afront sheet of cloth or other similar material adapted to cover thechest of the child and have suitable means such as tapes or stringsadapted to be tied around the neck to support the bib in place. If thebib is constructed of an absorbent material, food substances thereonwill be absorbed but may be such as to pass through the sheet materialonto the other side and still soil the childs clothes.

A protective covering at the rear of the absorbent sheet aids inovercoming the objectionable feature of the absorbent material when usedalone, but it is still necessary to launder the bib after it has beenused once or twice because of the single surface of the absorbentmaterial and the single surface of the non-absorbent material which canbe used. 7

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide aconstruction of a childs bib which will enable more than the customarytwo surfaces to be used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a childs bib capable ofutilizing all of the surfaces of the material used in making the bib,thereby requiring laundering less often.

A further object of the invention is to provide a childs bib wherein asheet of absorbent material and a sheet of non-absorbent material aresecured together in such a way that the relative positions of the twosheets of material can be reversed, thereby presenting four cleansurfaces for use instead of the customary two surfaces.

A still further and more specific object of the invention is to providea childs bib consisting of a sheet of absorbent material having a neckout out portion and a sheet of non-absorbent .material also having aneck out out portion wherein the two sheets are secured together onlyalong the edge of the cut out portion, thereby enabling the positions ofthe two sheets of material to be reversed so that four surfaces insteadof two surfaces may become useful.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the follow ing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bib in accordance with the presentinvention illustrating the absorbent sheet at the front thereof;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view taken along the planeof line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bib similar to Fig. 1 butillustrating the use of the noniabsorbent sheet at the front thereof;

Fig. l is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the non-absorbent sheetbeing separated from the absorbent sheet in the initial steps ofreversing; and

Fig. 5 illustrates the non-absorbent sheet being moved to its reversedposition at the opposite side of the absorbent sheet.

For purposes of convenience, the absorbent sheet which may be formed ofany suitable material, such as toweling or terry cloth, may beconsidered as being the front sheet as the bib is illustrated in Fig. 1,although the bib may be placed over the chest of the child so that thenon-absorbent sheet is outermost and may be termed the front if sodesired.

The absorbent sheet I as illustrated in the drawing may assume anydesired configuration suitable for covering the chest of a child, andhas been illustrated herein as being substantially rectangular. Thenon-absorbent sheet is indicated at 2 and is disposed to cover one sideof the absorbent sheet I. The two sheets are preferably, although notnecessarily, of substantially the same size and shape.

Both sheets i and 2 are provided at the upper part thereof with a neckout out portion 3 to receive the childs neck for properly positioningthe bib and fastening it in place. A binding material 4 is secured alongthe edges of the absorbent sheet I and terminates at its ends at thejuncture of the neck out out portion 3 as indicated at 5 and 6. v

Additional binding material is fixed along the edge of the neck out outportion as shown at 1 and this latter binding has end extensions 8 and 9of sufficient length to enable them to pass around to the rear of thechilds neck and be tied, whereby the bib will remain in fixed position.

The non-absorbent sheet 2 is entirely free of the absorbent sheet Iexcept in the neck out out portion 3. The binding I may embrace the edgeof the absorbent sheet I and non-absorbent sheet 2 in the neck out outportion as indicated in Fig. 2, or the non-absorbent sheet 2 may befixed or attached separately to the outside of the binding in the neckout out portion, if so desired.

The extent of the means for attaching the nonabsorbent sheet 2 to theabsorbent sheet I within the neck out out portion 3 is relativelyimmaterial except that it is important that this attaching means not beextended beyond the points and 6, otherwise the free ends 8 and 9 couldnot conveniently be utilized when the two sheets are in their reversedposition from that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates the hib wherein the non-absorbent sheet 2 is utilizedas the front. This non-absorbent sheet, when used as the front, can bekept clean conveniently by merely wiping with a damp cloth. When theabsorbent sheet I is used as the front in accordance with Fig. 1, anyliquid or food particles dropped onto the bib and absorbed by this frontsheet will not stain the childs clothes due to the presence of thenon-absorbent sheet 2 at the rear thereof. It it thus evident that twosurfaces may be made useful as the front of the bib.

The bib of the present invention, however, embodies the additionalimportant feature that the non-absorbent sheet 2 may have its positionreversed and be moved to a location on the opposite side of theabsorbent sheet i from that shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 4 illustratesthe initial movement of the non-absorbent sheet 2 as it is beingreversed. Fig. 5 illustrates substantial completion of the reversingoperation where the non-absorbent sheet 2 'is being moved to theopposite side of the absorbent sheet 5. When the reversing operation iscompleted, the non-a sorbent sheet 2 will be positioned on the oppositeside of the absorbent sheet i and this is made possible due to the factthat the two sheets are secured together only within he confines of theneck out out portion 3. This structure thereby enables the free ends 8and 9 of the binding to extend outwardly from between the two sheetseven after they have been reversed so that these free ends can beutilized as before to extend around to the back of the childs neck andbe tied together to secure the bib in place.

It is thus evident that a clean and fresh surface of the absorbentmaterial, as well as the additional surface of the non-absorbentmaterial may be presented for use, thus providing a total of foursurfaces which are all useful instead of the customary two surfaces.After the non-absorbent sheet has had its position reversed in themanner shown in Fig. 5, the two soiled surfaces of the two sheets are incontact with each other so that the structure has the additionaladvantage of being adapted to be turned to use he clean surface of theabsorbent material without fear of soiling the childs clothes because ofthe soiled surface of the absorbent sheet facing inwardly.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of partsfrom those dis.- closed herein without in any way departing from thespirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantagesthereof, provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope ofthe claim appended hereto.

The invention ishereby claimed as follows:

A bib comprising a sheet of relatively impervious material and asubstantially coextensive sheet of absorbent material, said bib beinggenerally elongated and having one transverse edge provided with aconcave portion intermediate the ends thereof, so as to it about theneck of the wearer, a strip of binding material secured to the sheets atthe neck-receiving concave portion and extending throughout saidportion, the binding material freely extending beyond the ends of theconcave portion to provide straps for attaching the bib on the wearer,said binding strip providing means to hinge said sheets and allow thesheet of impervious material to be disposed at will in positionoverlying either face of the sheet of absorbent material so that the bibmay be applied to the wearer with the absorbent sheet overlying theimpervious sheet and when the outwardly facing surface of the absorbentsheet shall have become soiled, the impervious sheet may be disposed inposition underlying such soiled surface and the bib then applied to thewearer in reverse position with the soiled surface facing the body ofthe wearer and the im pervious sheet underlying the said soiled surface.

BARBARA S. ESKEY.

References Cited. in the file of this .patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 540,756 Odell June 11, 1895 1,497,756 Jones June 17,1924 2,262,010 Kuehne -4 Nov. 11, 1941 2,423,489 Dunn July 8, 19472,551,907 Serebrin May 8, 1951

